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Most of the US intelligence community assesses it is ‘very unlikely’ that a foreign adversary is behind the mysterious so-called Havana Syndrome symptoms experienced by some American officials, an intelligence assessment published Friday said.
Havana Syndrome was first publicly reported in 2016 when US diplomats in Cuba’s capital reported falling ill and hearing piercing sounds at night, sparking speculation of an attack by a foreign entity using an unspecified sonar weapon.
Other symptoms including bloody noses, headaches and vision problems were later reported by embassy staff in China, Europe and the US capital Washington.
“Most of the IC (intelligence community) continues to assess that it is ‘very unlikely’ a foreign adversary is responsible for the events reported as possible anomalous health incidents,” said the assessment, which was published on the website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
But “one IC component judges there is a ‘roughly even chance’ a foreign actor has used a novel weapon or prototype device to harm a small, undetermined subset” of US personnel and dependents who reported symptoms, according to the assessment.
And another component said there is a “roughly even chance” a foreign actor has developed a weapon or device that could have harmed American personnel, the assessment added.
The United States in 2017 withdrew non-essential employees from its recently reopened embassy in Havana and expelled Cuban diplomats over the illnesses, speculating that microwave or other electronic warfare was responsible.
But in a sign of easing concerns and also a sign of policy priorities, President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023 reopened the US immigration office in Havana that had been shuttered during the scare.
wd/dw
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Publish date : 2025-01-10 06:51:00
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